Chapter 67: Survival of the Fittest in Nature

When Li Jing woke up, it was already evening.

He came out of his room to see Ji Qing and Stinky Tofu, one a cat and one a dog, watching television in the living room.

If someone else saw this scenario, they would certainly find it inconceivable.

But in this villa, it was everyday life.

Seeing Li Jing emerge from his room, Stinky Tofu quickly got up, wagging its tail.

Ji Qing then spoke in human words.

"When are we eating dinner?"

"Hmm, I’ll cook right away."

Li Jing responded, preparing some dog food for Stinky Tofu. He then looked at Ji Qing.

"Chen Yuran hasn’t returned yet?"

"No."

Ji Qing, curled up on the couch, yawned languidly before sighing.

"There are inspections and patrols everywhere now, even more than when the Demon Miasma broke out. Judging by the current situation, it seems I must wait a while longer before I can return to my hotpot restaurant and resume my role as the owner."

"Indeed, we need to wait. This incident won’t ease up anytime soon."

Li Jing nodded.

Ji Qing was obviously well-informed about the current situation in North City through news and other sources.

The incident had indeed greatly affected her.

Especially since it involved a human-shaped demon.

Li Jing didn’t know what Dai Hong thought of this.

But to be safe, it would be better for Ji Qing to continue laying low at Chen Yuran’s house.

Going to the refrigerator to choose ingredients, Li Jing turned his head.

"After dinner, I need to go to the Spiritual Objects Market."

"The Spiritual Objects Market?"

Ji Qing exclaimed, then leapt off the couch, scurried over, and with a push of her four short legs, jumped onto Li Jing’s shoulder.

"Take me with you! I haven’t been out properly for a long time and being cooped up at home playing games is getting boring. If you’re with me, I won’t have to worry about being stopped and questioned by the patrols."

"This... "

Li Jing hesitated.

Taking Ji Qing out wasn’t a problem.

But the key point was that he planned to visit the Spiritual Objects Market to appraise Qu Lianghong’s body and if possible, sell it on the spot.

Considering it involved a human-shaped demon, would it be inappropriate to bring Ji Qing along?

Seeing Li Jing’s hesitant expression and assuming he didn’t want to take her, Ji Qing tilted her head.

"Why? Are you going on a date or something? Can’t bring me along?"

"That’s not it."

Li Jing shook his head.

After thinking about it, he simply took out Qu Lianghong’s body from his storage space.

Ji Qing was taken aback upon seeing him produce a snake out of nowhere.

"What’s this...?"

"A female snake monster I killed that had taken human form," Li Jing explained.

"..."

Ji Qing was silent, then asked.

"Did she harm humans?"

"She’s partly responsible for the chaos in the city."

Li Jing spoke, continuing.

"I’m going to the market to get an appraisal and then find a seller who deals in monster materials to sell it. Maybe you shouldn’t come with me on this trip. She is the same kind as..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ji Qing interjected.

"I’m a cat, the snake in your hand is a snake, we can’t be considered the same."

She then scrutinized Qu Lianghong’s body.

"Since she harmed humans, her death was deserved. I wouldn’t sympathize with anyone just because we’re both monsters. We human-shaped demons may not have as many rules as you humans, but there’s a saying ’when in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ If we want to fit into society, we must adapt and learn to abide by all human laws and social norms."

Qu Ji Qing carried on with her rambling explanation.

"The serpent monster you hold in your hand, the one that caused so much chaos and harm to humans is naturally a threat to me, a fellow human-shaped demon. It’s like the current situation outside: my life is severely affected because of it. Why would I have any sympathy for it? I would even loathe it," she said.

Li Jing frowned in confusion at Ji Qing’s rational arguments.

"I understand, but I plan to sell this serpent monster for money, you don’t mind?" he asked.

"Why should I?" Ji Qing replied nonchalantly.

"Even though we demons can take human form, we aren’t human after all; we have the natural instincts of beasts and abide by the food chain. It is common for us to hunt each other and it is even more frequent for us to kill our own kind. For monsters to coexist peacefully, it must be built on the foundation of equal strength and temperament."

She huffed before adding,

"Take me as an example, I am a part of the cat family, a natural predator. The only difference is that I am gentle by nature as I was born a ragdoll cat and do not like to hunt or kill. If I were any other cat, I would instantly want to kill a monster that had transformed from a snake or a bird. Unless there is a special reason, it is very rare to have the self-control not to attack, especially if doing so would not expose myself and I could possibly eliminate my opponent."

While speaking, Ji Qing licked her dainty paw, her cat-like eyes revealing a hint of anticipation.

"You’re just selling this serpent monster for money. If it was up to me, I’d make a meal out of it. Like you humans treasure valuable parts of a high-level monster, isn’t it the same for us demons too? A high-level monster would be an excellent tonic that could aid my cultivation. Similarly, for Stinky Tofu being a spiritual creature, the idea applies too. Spiritual beasts are gentle only towards humans. They aren’t nearly as friendly towards other creatures. Stinky Tofu seems harmless to both people and animals because it has been domesticated from a young age and its breed is rather unique."

"..."

Li Jing.

What Ji Qing said was painfully true.

And it made a lot of sense.

Isn’t survival of the fittest a rule of nature?

Human beings are also part of the food chain.

However, humans are special as they possess wisdom and humanity, allowing them to stand at the apex of the food chain.

Li Jing had never thought of this deeply before.

Ji Qing’s explanation made him understand.

Whether spiritual beasts or monsters, they are beasts at heart.

Even if they have the capacity for good and evil, their natural instincts are hard to eliminate.

Ji Qing’s gentleness wasn’t due to her benevolent heart. It was purely due to her unique nature.

Seeing that Ji Qing had fixed her gaze on the serpent in his hand, Li Jing turned to look at Stinky Tofu in the corner of the living room, who was seemingly eating dog food but kept glancing over. He quickly put the body of Qu Lianghong back into his storage space.

He was initially oblivious, but now that he realized, how could he not guard against the potential ’traitor’ in his own home?

...

Since Chen Yuran was not around, Li Jing didn’t prepare an elaborate meal.

After finishing a simple meal with Ji Qing, he went back to his room to change his clothes.

When he returned to the living room, Ji Qing was already waiting by the door.

Stinky Tofu, having satisfied its hunger, crawled back into its doghouse.

Since Li Jing had reprimanded Stinky Tofu, it had behaved a lot better and did not dare to act rashly.

Knowing that it would be excluded from a trip to the spiritual object market, it stopped causing a fuss.

Seeing Ji Qing already at the door, Li Jing approached and was about to pick her up.

Unexpectedly, when he was halfway there, Ji Qing, who was usually passive and allowed him to pet her, suddenly leaped away.

?

Li Jing frowned.

"I rarely go out and I want to go in human form this time." Ji Qing said.

Without waiting for him to answer, she glanced outside the villa to make sure it was safe, and then transformed into a human.

Then, she quickly grabbed Li Jing’s hand.

"Let’s go, quick. Who knows when Chen Yuran will be back. We don’t want to run into her."

"..."

Li Jing.

He could understand if Ji Qing wanted to go outside in her human form.

As she had kept her cat form this entire time and never transformed into a human, she was probably bored.

The problem was, if Ji Qing went out with him in her human form, he wouldn’t be able to use Sky Control.

To get to the spiritual object market, they would need to take a taxi for an hour!